Machine for processing merchandising tickets in both roll and individual form

ABSTRACT

A machine for processing merchandising tickets each having a magnetizable surface strip and a line for receiving printing. The tickets may be in individual form carried by a hopper or in roll form carried by a supply reel. The machine defines a main path having a magnetic encoding head for encoding information on the magnetic strip of a ticket, a read head for checking the information encoded on the strip and a printer for printing on the print line of a ticket. The machine further defines supply paths connecting the supply reel and hopper with the main path. The machine includes a stacker and a take-up reel and defines paths connecting the main path with both the stacker and the take-up reel. A discard chute and a delivery path for a length of connected tickets are also provided by the machine, and selectively operable swingable deflectors are provided for selectively directing the tickets to this delivery path or to the discard chute. The machine also includes a burster mechanism for separating the tickets in connected form into discrete lengths.

United States Patent 1191 Amundson et a1.

14 1 Dec. 17,1974

1 1 MACHINE FOR PROCESSING MERCHANDISING TICKETS IN BOTH ROLL ANDINDIVIDUAL FORM [73] Assignee: International Business MachinesCorporation, Armonk, N.Y.

22 Filed: June 18,1973

21 Appl. No.2 371,319

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,149,028 2/1939 Meisel101/227 2,275,396 3/1942 Johnson 164/115 2,344,720 3/1944 O'Connell101/227 2,775,298 12/1956 Rubidge 164/115 2,782,712 2/1957 Claff 101/1443,052,350 9/1962 Marcovitz 209/74 3,180,254 4/1965 Hamisch 101/693,651,503 3/1972 Kono 3,735,095 5/1973 Mutz 235/619 R PrimaryExaminer-Daryl W. Cook Assistant ExaminerRobert M. Kilgore Attorney,Agent, or FirmKeith T. Bleuer 5 7 ABSTRACT A machine for processingmerchandising tickets each having a magnetizable surface strip and aline for receiving printing. The tickets may be in individual formcarried by a hopper or in roll form carried by a supply reel. Themachine defines a main path having a magnetic encoding head for encodinginformation on the magnetic strip of a ticket, a read head for checkingthe information encoded on the strip and a printer for printing on theprint line of a ticket. The machine further defines supply pathsconnecting the supply reel and hopper with the main path. The machineincludes a stacker and a take-up reel and defines paths connecting themain path with both the stacker and the take-up reel. A discard chuteand a delivery path for a length of connected tickets are also providedby the machine, and selectively operable swingable deflectors areprovided for selectively directing the tickets to this delivery path orto the discard chute/The machine also includes a burster mechanism forseparating the tickets in connected form into discrete lengths.

6 Claims, 26 Drawing Figures PATENTEU BEE I 7 m4 SHEET Ulflf 12PATENTEnnEcmm 3 855,457

sum czar 12 -lllllllllll PATENTEUUEBITIBH 3855,45?

SHEET 030! 12 FIG 6 PATENTED HEB] 71974 sum as or 12 PATEHTEB DEC] 7I974 sum 05 or 12 PATENTED DEC! 7 I974 SHEET 0701- 12 PATENTEU DEB]71974 SHEET 080F122 FATENTED DEC 1 7 m4 SHEET lOUF 12 sum" mar 12PATENTEQ m1 11914 PATENTED DEC] 71974 SHEET 120? 12 MACHINE FORPROCESSING MERCHANDISING TICKETS IN BOTH ROLL AND INDIVIDUAL FORM CROSSREFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Ser. No. 413,749, filed Nov. 7, 1973,by Paul M. Charlson, Charles D. Green, William J. Harris and Keith E.Inman, entitled Ticket Cartridge and Hopper And Stacker Therefor.

Ser. No. 491,968, filed July 25, 1974, by James R. Dillinger, Robert F.Herald and Irving L. Miller entitled Printing Mechanism.

Ser. No. 488,108, filed July 12, 1974, by Duncan J. Lagoe and John E.Savage, Jr., entitled Document Sensing Device.

Ser. No. 357,428, filed May 4, 1973, by Richard E. Lagergren andentitled Self Threading Take-Up Spool Device.-

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention:

This invention relates to machines for printing and magneticallyencoding merchandising tickets of the type having magnetizable surfacestrips thereon.

2. Description of the Prior Art:

It has previously been proposed to prepare merchandising tags from rollstock having a magnetic surface stripthereon with the tickets afterprinting and magnetically encoding being severed into individual ticketform and then being accumulated. Such a proposal is contained in US.Pat. No. 3,651,503, issued Mar. 21, 1972, to Harry W. Kono.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention toprovide an improved, very versatile machine of this general type forprinting and magnetically encoding tickets having strips of magnetizablesurface material thereon. More particularly, it is an object of theinvention to provide a machine of this type which is arranged to utilizesuch tickets inrollform or individual tickets of this type and todeliversuch tickets in roll form or in individual form.

Still more particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide amachine of this type which includes a burster for separating the ticketsin roll form into discrete lengths of tickets each containing arelatively few tickets.

Preferably, the machine defines a main ticket path which includes amagnetic write head, a printer and a read head by means of which themagnetically encoded information may be verified. In addition, themachine includes a ticket supply path connecting a supply reel for aroll of tickets with the main path and a supply path connecting a hopperfor individual tickets with the main path. The main path is connectedwith a take-up reel by means of a first delivery path and is connectedwith a stacker for individual tickets by a second delivery path.Selectively operable deflectors are provided in the machine fordirecting the tickets in the various paths. A ticket burster is providedin the main path which operates to burst a continuous strip of ticketson a perforation line in the strip of tickets so as to selectivelyprovide a relatively few tickets in connected form as an output of themachine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of amerchandise ticket processing machine embodying principles of theinvention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are plan views of strips of tickets used by the machine;

FIGS. 4 and 5, when placed together, constitute a schematic diagram ofthe principal working parts of the machine;

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the terminal end of the machineincluding the take-up reel;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on line 7-7 of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 8-8 of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of the central card transportingmechanism of the machine;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken on line 10-10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken on line 11-11 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of a driving motor for the machinetogether with the belts and pulleys under drive from the motor, asviewed from the rear of the machine;

FIG. 13 is a front elevational view of burster mechanism and inputmechanism of the machine;

FIG. 14 is an end view of the burster mechanism;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the hopper mechanism of the machine;

FIG. 16 is a front elevational view of a portion of the hoppermechanism;

FIG. 17 is a top plan view of the hopper mechanism;

FIG. 18 is an end elevational view of the hopper mechanism;

FIG. 19 is a front elevational view of stacker mechanism of the machinewhich, as shown, has a document card cartridge located in place in thestacker mechanism;

FIG. 20 is a fragmentary top view of a portion of the stacker mechanism;

FIG. 21 is a sectional view taken on line 2l--21 of FIG. 19; A

FIG. 22 is a top plan view of certain electrical switch mechanismincluded in the stacker mechanism;

FIG. 23 is a top plan view of the switch mechanism with the documentcard cartridge being disassociated from the stacker mechanism;

FIG. 24 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale of printer mechanismincluded in the machine and taken on line 24-24 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 25 is a perspective view of one of the document card cartridgesused by the machine; and

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of a cover portion of the cartridge shownin FIG. 25.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Tickets of types suitable foruse in the ticket encoder of the present invention are illustrated inFIGS. 2 and 3. The tickets 30 illustrated in FIG. 2 may, for example, beabout 2 inches in length (or may be 1 inch or 3 inches long) and are ina continuous strip 32, being separated from adjacent tickets in thestrip 32 by means of perforation lines 34. A relatively short slot 36and a relatively long slot 38 are disposed in eachof the perforationlines 34. Each of the tickets 30 has a round hole 40 in one corner, anda slantwise extending perforation line 42 divides this corner of theticket 30 with respect to the rest of the ticket. As will be noted, theperforation line 42 does not pass through the opening 40. The tickets 30and the strip 32 hace no particular coating on the under surfaces.

Each of the tickets 30 has a stripe 44 of magnetic material extendinglongitudinally of the ticket on the upper surface of the ticket. Thestripe may be applied onto the ticket 30 and onto the strip 32 by anysuitable means. It will be noted that the slots 38 are longer than thestripes 44 and divide the stripes 44 of adjacent tickets 30 in the strip32. The slots 36 are outside of the stripes 44. Print lines 46 and 48may be applied onto the tickets 30, above and below the stripes 44.

The tickets 30 may, for example, be used in connection with articles forsale, such as garments, for example, mens suits or womens dresses. Whenused in this connection, a ticket 311 is detached from adjacent ticketsin the strip 32, and the ticket is fastened onto the garment by means ofa small plastic anchor that extends through the opening 40 and throughthe garment. The magnetic strips 44 has been encoded (using the machineof the present invention) with size, type, and price information forexample; and some of this information is printed by the present machinein the print lines 46 and 48 onto the ticket so that the information isin human, readable form. When the article is sold, the ticket is brokeninto two parts by tearing along the perforation line 42, and theinformation carried by the stripe 44 is then decoded by any suitablemeans such as, for example, using the machine of the present invention.The corner of the ticket 30 through which the opening 40 has beenprovided remains attached to the garment by means of the anchor.

The tickets 50 illustrated in FIG. 3 are individual tickets which have acoating of pressure sensitive adhesive on their lower surfaces, andthese individual tickets are carried by a strip 51 of a backing sheetfrom which the individual tickets may be readily separated. The tickets50 are spaced from each other on the strip 51 and are somewhat narrowerthan the strip so as to be spaced from the side edges of the strip.Perforation lines 52 are provided in the strip 51 mid-way between thespaced tickets 50. Magnetic stripes 53, similar to the stripes 44, areprovided on the tickets 50; and the stripes 53 are encoded by themachine of the present invention in the same manner as the stripes 44are encoded. Lines of printing may be applied on to the tickets 50 aboveand below the stripes 53, similar to the print lines 46 and 48. Afterthe individual tickets 50 have been encoded magnetically and have beenprinted, they may be detected from the carrier strip 51 and may then bestuck on to a garment, for example, using the adhesive layer for theadhering action.

The machine of the invention is illustrated as an entirety in FIG. 1.Referring to FIG. 1, the machine may be seen to include a cabinet 56carrying a reel 58 for a supply roll of the tickets 30 or 50, coding andprinting mechanism 60, and a takeup reel 62 for rolling up tickets thathave been encoded and printed. The mechanism 60 and the takeup reel 62are pivotally mounted in a suitable manner with respect to the cabinet56 so that they can be raised into vertical positions as illustrated inFIG. 1. A cover 64 is pivotally mounted on the cabinet 56, and it may beswung downwardly to cover the mechanism 611 after the mechanism 60 hasbeen moved back to be in the principal plane of the reel 58.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the principal components of the mechanism 60may be seen to include a write head 66, a read head 68, a printer and adocument burster 72. The burster 72 is effective on strips 32 and 51 ofconnected tickets, while the heads 66 and 68 and printer 70 are alsoeffective on individual ones of the tickets 38 (Such as of two inchlength) which the machine is arranged to handle. Individual ones of thetickets 30 are contained in a hopper 74, and these individual ticketsare directed either into a stacker 76 or else into a discard chute 78.

The individual tickets from the hopper .74 and also the ticket strips 32and 51 traverse a common path 80 which is defined by the mechanism 60.In particular, this path 80 is provided by a lower frame 82 and an upperframe or backbone 84 that is swingably mounted by means of a pin 86 withrespect to the frame 82.

The backbone 84 and the frame 82 also have portions that provide a path88 leading from the hopper 74 to the path 80 for transporting individualtickets. The frame 82 also provides a path 90 for a ticket strip 32 or51. The frames 84 and 82 also provide paths 92 and 94 connecting withthe path 80 for transporting individual tickets to the stacker 76.Portions of the frame 82 also provide a path 96 connecting the path 92with the discard pocket 78, paths 98 and 100 for transporting the ticketstrips 32 or 51 from the path 80 to the takeup reel 62 and a path 102which is also for the ticket strips 32 or 51 and arranged to simplydirect the strips to the side of the machine for grasping by theoperator.

Swingable ticket deflectors 104, 106 and 108 are provided for directingthe individual tickets or ticket strips 32 and 51 into the desired paths92, 94, 96, 98. 100, and 102.

The path 90 is defined in part by rolls 110, 112, I14, and 116. The roll114 is mounted on the end of a lever 118, and the lever is actuated byan electromagnet 120. An input switch 122 actuated'by a strip 32 or 51is positioned between the rolls 112 and 116. The burster 72 ispositioned in path 90 between the rolls 114 and 116 and the beginning ofpath 80. A sheet material spring 123 holds a strip 32 or 51 against theface of frame 82 for accurately locating the strip.

The path 88 is in part defined by rolls 124, 126, 128 and 130. The rolls124 and 126 are positioned opposite each other. The rolls 128 and 130are likewise positioned opposite each other, and the roll 130 is mountedon a lever 132 which is actuated by a magnet 134. A ticket pick roll 136is positioned beneath the hopper 74 and is mounted on a swing arm 138.An electromagnet 140 is provided for selectively moving the roll 136upwardly. A hopper eject switch 142 is positioned immediately downstreamof the rolls 124 and 126 to be actuated by individual tickets 30 fromthe hopper 74. A spring 143 similar to spring 123 is effective onindividual tickets in path 88.

A ticket sensor of detector cell 144 is provided at the confluence ofthe paths 88 and 90. The path 80 is partially defined by rolls 146 and148 respectively positioned over the write and read heads 66 and 68. Thepath 80 is also defined by rolls 150, 152, 154, 156, 158 and 161). Theroll 152 is positioned opposite the roll and on a swing arm 162 that isactuated by a magnet 164. The rolls 154 and 156 are opposite each otheron one side of the printer 70, and the rolls 158 and 160 are oppositeeach other on the other side of the printer. A ticket sensor or detector166 is disposed immediately upstream of the rolls 154 and 156.

The path 92 is partially defined by rolls 168 and 170, and the path 94is partially defined by rolls 172 and 174. A stacker roll 176 isdisposed beneath the stacker 76 on the end of a swing arm 178, and anelectromagnet 180 is provided for moving the arm 178 and roll 176. Aticket detector switch 182 is provided in the path 94. The path 98 ispartially defined by rolls 184 and 186, and the path is partiallydefined by rolls 188 and 190.

A magnet 192 is provided for actuating the deflector 104. A magnet 194is provided for actuating the deflectors 106 and 108, and thesedeflectors are interconnected by a link 196 so that the single magnet194 is effective for both of the deflectors.

The takeup reel 62 is rotatably disposedwith respect to the frame 82,and a web guide 198 (see FIG. 6) is swingably dispose at the outlet endof the path 100. The guide 198, as it swings, actuates a switch 200located above the guide 198. The input reel 58 is rotatably disposed ona part of the cabinet 56 (see FIG. 1), and a spring web guide 202 isprovided .for directing web from the reel 58 to the mechanism 60.

The path 80 is also partially defined by skew pressure rolls 204 and 206which respectively have nips with rolls 146 and 148 (see FIGS. 7 11).The rolls 204 and 206 are carried on a U-shaped member 208 of springsheet material and cooperate with the rolls 146 and 148 so as to move anindividual ticket 30 or 50 or a ticket strip 32 or 51 into contact witha rail 210 also forming a part of the path 80. A head backing roll 212located over the head 66 is coaxially disposed with respect to the roll1'46 and is fixed on the same shaft 214 as the roll 146. An electricemitter 216 is also driven by the shaft 214. A head backing roll 218located over the read head 68 is disposed on the same shaft as the roll148.

A common drive roll 220 is provided for the rolls 146 and 148, and adrive roll 222 is provided for driving the roll 220. A motor 224 carriedby the frame 84 is provided for driving the rolls 146 and 148 inaddition to the other rolls 150, 154 and 158 along the path 80. Themotor 224 has an output pulley 226, and a belt 228 extends the pulley226 and the roll 222 in addition to idler rolls 230, 232, 234, 236, 238and 240. The idler rolls 230, 232, 234, 236, and 238 keep the belt 228in driving contact with the rolls 222, 150, 154, and 158 as shown inFIG. 9. The belt 228 is maintained taut by means of the roll 240 whichhas a spring device 242 acting on it, tending to move the roll 240 in adirection away from the pulley 226 of the motor 224 as illustrated inFIG. 9.

A motor 244 (see FIG. 12) carried by the frame 82 is used for drivingthe rolls 126, 128, 116, 174, 168, 184 and 188. The motor 244 has anoutput pulley 246 driving a belt 248 which extends around a drivenpulley 250. A spring loaded idler roll 252 keeps the belt 248 taut. Thepulley 250 is fixed on a shaft 253 and thereby drives a coaxiallydisposed pulley 254, and the pulley 254 drives a belt 256. The belt 256extends around the pulleys 258, 260, 184a, 168a, 174a, 264, 188a, 266268, 270, 272, 126a, 128a, and 116a, back to pulley 254. The roll 258 isa spring loaded idler roll for maintaining the belt 256 taut about thepreviously mentioned rolls. The rolls 126a, 128a, 116a, 184a, 168a, 174aand 188a respectively drive the rolls 126, 128, 116, 184, 168, 174 and188 in the paths 88, 90, 80, 92, 94, 96, 98, and 102.

The roll is driven from the roll 126 by means of a belt 274 (see FIG.13), and the roll 110 has a one-way clutching device 276 built into itso that it may freely rotate in the direction 278. The takeup reel 62 isdriven by means of a belt 280 (See FIG. 12) extending over rolls 282 and284. The roll 284 is fixed with respect to the roll 188, and the roll282 is fixed with respect to the takeup reel 62. The pick roll 136 isdriven from the pulley 126a by means of a belt 286 (see FIG. 17)extending around pulleys 288 and 290. The pulley 288 is fixed withrespect to the pulley 126a, and the pulley 290 is fixed with respect tothe pick roll 136. The roll 176 is driven from the roll 174 by means ofa belt 292 (see FIGS. 19 21) that extends over both rolls 174 and 176.

A throat knife assembly is positioned at the exit end of the hopper andcomprises a swinging arm 294 pivoted at 296 and carrying a knife 298(See FIGS. 15 18). The arm 294 also carries a roll 300 disposed in closeproximity to the lower end of the knife 298 for assuring that only oneticket at a time may leave the hopper. A spring 302 is effective on thearm 294, attempt ing to move the arm 294 upwardly.

The burster 72 comprises a burster drive roll 304 (See FIG. 13) which isfixed to the shaft 253 and is therefore driven by the motor 244. Theroll 304 has a tire 304a of rubber-like material on its periphery. Aroll 306 having a knurled periphery is disposed adjacent to the roll304, and the roll 306 has a flat 306a on its periphery. A disk 308 iscoaxially disposed and is fixed with respect to the roll 306, and thedisk 308 has a tooth 308a formed on its periphery. The roll 306 has apin 310 eccentrically fixed thereon. An electromagnet 314 is effectivefor actuating a'swing lever 316, and the lever 316 carries an abutmentarm 318 which is adapted to be effective on the tooth 308a. A bearingblock 320 is disposed on the pin 310, and a burster blade 322 isembedded in the block 320 and is reciprocably disposed in a housing 324.The end of the blade 322 is adjacent to the path 90, as shown.

A lever 326 is swingably disposed in the housing 324 and has an armportion 326a that lies opposite an anvil plate 328. The plate 328 is onthe upper side of the path 90 while the arm portion 326a is at times onthe lower side of the path 90. A compression spring 330 is effective onthe lever 326 and attempts to swing the lever 326 upwardly so that thearm portion 326a applies pressure onto the anvil 328. The lever 326extends through an opening 332 in the blade 322; and, when the burster72 is ineffective, the blade 322 holds the lever 326 in its illustratedposition with the arm portion 326a ineffective to bear on the anvil 328.

The printer 70 comprises lower and upper print units 70a and 70b (seeFIG. 24). Each of the units 70a and 70b includes a plurality of printwires 333, and it will be observed from FIG. 24 that these wires extendat an acute angle a" with respect to each other. The upper unit 70bprints the uppermost line of printing 46 (above stripe 44), while thelowermost unit 700 prints the lower print line 48 (below the stripe 44).The print units 70a and 70b have their wires disposed at the acute anglea so as to provide greater room for the units 70a and 70b with respectto each other.

An inked print ribbon 334 extends around the print unit 70 and overidler rolls 336 and 338 (see FIG. 4). The ribbon is contained in acartridge 340 and is fed into the cartridge by means of a driving roll342 having a pressure nip with a pressure roll 344. The roll 342 isdriven from the roll 268 (see FIG. 12) over which the belt 256 extends.

Both the hopper 74 and the stacker 76 utilize a ticket cartridge 346(see FIG. 25). The hopper comprises a table portion 348 (see FIG. 15)and a backboard 350 on which the cartridge rests. The roll 136 movesthrough the table portion 348, and a retainer spring 352 extends throughthe backboard 350 for snapping over the cartridge and holding it inposition.

The stacker comprises a table portion 354 and a backboard 356 on which acartridge 346 rests (see FIGS. 19 and 21). The roll 176 extends throughthe table portion 354, and a retainer spring 358 holds the cartridge 346in position. A switch 360 (see FIGS. 22 and 23) is positioned on therear surface of the backboard 356, and the switch 360 includes anactuator arm 362 that extends through the backboard 356 and through thecartridge 346 in the stacker position for indicating when the cartridge346 in the stacker position is full. A lever 364 extends through thebackboard 356 and is actuated when a cartridge 346 is put into thestacker position.

Referring to FIGS. 25 and 26, the cartridge 346 may be seen to comprisean outer casing 346a and a cover 346b. The cover 34612 is disposed ingrooves 346a which allow the cover 346b to be raised within the casing346 to allow tickets to be placed in the cartridge in this manner ifdesired.

The cartridge is provided on its bottom with an elongate slot 366 whichis defined by side flanges 368 and 370. The flanges 366 and 368 are cutaway on their ends to provide an elongate slot 372 on the bottom of thecartridge at one end. The side of the cartridge, at the other end, isprovided with an elongate slot 374; and a notch 376 is also provided inthis side of the cartridge, above the notch 374.

A block 378 in the cartridge 346 moves up and down in the cartridge astickets are deposited or removed from the cartridge. A constant tensionleaf spring 380 has its lower end (as seen in FIG. 25) fixed at thebottom of the cartridge, and a roll 380a of the spring 380 fits within aslot 382 provided in the block 378.

In operation, it will initially be assumed that the tickets in the strip32 are being processed by the machine. The strip 30 is on the input reel58 and is drawn from the reel 58, passing around the spring 202. Thereel 58 is not driven, and the strip 32 in being pulled from the reel 58rotates the reel 58, with the spring 202 functioning to yield to preventbreakage of the strip 32 or undue acceleration of the reel 58. The strip32 is moved manually between the rolls 110 and 112 which are in nippedrelation and are initially stationary. The one-way device 276 allows thestrip 32 to be moved between the rolls 110 and 112, with correspondingrotation of these rolls. The one-way engaging device 276 engages ifthere is a tendency of the strip 32 to fall back out of the nip betweenthese rolls.

At this time, the motors 224 and 244 are supplied with electricalenergy, and these motors drive the rolls connected with them by means ofbelts. In particular,

the motor 244 drives the pulleys connected with it by means of the belts248, 256 and 280 and thus drives the corresponding rolls 116, 128, 126,etc. (see FIG. 12). The motor 224 drives rolls 150, 154, 222, etc.,through the belt 228 (see FIG. 9).

At this time, the electromagnet 120 is energized, and this may beaccomplished by means of a microcontroller (not shown) with acontrolling microprogram (which may be also used for controlling theother controllable mechanisms and elements of the machine). The roll 114is initially out of nipped relationship with respect to the roll 116,and the magnet 20 is then effective to move the roll 114 into nippedrelationship with the roll 116. The roll 116 is driven from the pulleey116a which in turn is driven by the belt 256, and the roll 114 thenrotates along with the roll 116. The roll is drivingly connected withthe roll 114 by means of the belt 274, and the roll 110 is thus drivenso as to move the strip 32 inwardly of the machine (to the left as seenin FIG. 5).

With this motion of the strip 32, it moves under switch 122; and thisactuation of switch 122 may cause de-energization of the magnet due tothe action of the controlling system (such as the micro-controller) forthe machine. The roll 114 is thus at this time moved out of nippedrelationship with respect to the roll 116; and the strip 32 isstationary, with the machine being in a pre-start condition.

Thereupon, when it is desired that a string of tickets 30 shall beprocessed, the electromagnet 120 is again energized, such as by means ofthe machine controlling system as an intermediary; and the roll 114 isagain moved into nipped relationship with respect to the roll 116. Theticket strip 32 then advances between rolls 110 and 112 and rolls 114and 116 until the leading end of the strip 32 passes through the sensor144 and arrives beneath roll 146. The stripe 44 is in alignment with thesensor 144, and the sensor recognizes the edge of a slot 38 due to lightbeing transmitted from one part of the sensor to the other. The sensor144 detects the ends of subsequent tickets 30 by light shining throughthe slots 38. The burster 72 at this time is inactive, and the bursterblade 322 is in its retracted position as is shown in FIG. 13. The writehead 66 then becomes active to magnetically encode on the magneticstripe 44 of the leading ticket 30 of the strip 32 passing through themachine.

The roll 146 (and also the roll 148) are driven from the roll 222 whichis driven from the motor 224 by means of the belt 228. The roll 222drives the rolls 146 and 148 through the intermediate roll 220. Therolls 204 and 206 have a nip with the rolls 146 and 148 due to theU-shaped spring member 208 on which the rolls 204 and 206 are mounted,and the rolls 204 and 206 function to hold the strip 32 in contact withthe rail 210 due to the canting of the rolls 204 and 206.

The write head 66 begins magnetically encoding on the stripe 44 of theleading ticket 30 a predetermined number of counts after the leading endof the strip 32 passes through the sensor 144. The counting is done ofemitter pulses derived from the emitter 216 by the controlling system ofthe machine, the counting action being initiated by the sensor 144. Theemitter 216 is driven in timed relationship with respect to the roll 146which has the same speed on its periphery as the speed of the strip 32.The roll 212 holds the stripe 44 of the leading ticket 30 in tightrunning contact with the write head 66 during the magnetic encoding bythe head 66.

The machine controlling system is also preferably effective tode-energize the magnet 120 as soon as the leading end of the ticketstrip 32 is in the nip between the rolls 146 and 204. The latter tworolls are then effective to continue the forward movement of the strip32 through the machine.

This writing action by the head 66 is preferably under the control ofthe machine controlling system so that the magnetic encoding begins justa very short distance from the leading end of the stripe 44, and thewriting action continues under the control of the system and the emitter216 for nearly the complete length of the magnetic stripe 44. It iscontemplated that the tickets 30 may be in various lengths, such aslengths of one inch, 2 inches or 3 inches, and the controlling system iseffective to recognize the difference in the lengths of the stripes 44.

The leading ticket 30 continues with the strip 32 through the machine;and, as the stripe 44 of the leading ticket passes over the read head68, the information that has been magnetically encoded on the stripe 44is read by the head 68 and is transmitted to the machine controllingsystem. The machine controlling system is preferably such as to thencheck the information that is read by the head 68 against theinformation that should have been recorded by means of the head 66 uponthe same stripe 44. The roll 218 holds the stripe 44 of the leadingticket 30 against the read head 68 so that a reliable reading action isobtained.

The tickets 30 and strip 32 continue to move through the machine, andeach of the succeeding tickets is magnetically encoded by the head 66and has the encoded information read from it by the head 68 in the samemanner as has occurred for the first ticket 30. The machine controllingsystem is preferably such that, if only one isolated ticket 30 does nothave the information read by head 68 verified with the information thatshould have been encoded, the machine continues in operation (but thisparticular ticket 30 is not printed). However, if the information readby head 68 from two or more successive tickets does not verify withrspect to the information that should have been encoded on the tickets,the machine is preferably shut down by the system.

The heads 66 and 68 may be located so closely together than the magneticstripe 44 on a 2 inch ticket 30 or a 3 inch ticket 30 is beingsimultaneously encoded and read, and verification by means of head 68begins prior to the slot 38 at the trailing edge of the ticket coming inthe sensor 144. In the case of 1 inch tickets 30, verifying by means ofhead 68 on a first ticket 30 is taking place at the time that a secondticket is being magnetically encoded. The machine controlling system isset so as to accommodate for these differences.

Initially, prior to the strip 32 reaching the roll 150, the magnet 164is energized so as to provide a nip between rolls 150 and 152.Therefore, as the leading edge of the strip 32 reaches these rolls, thestrip passes between these rolls and is thereby propelled forwardlyalong the path 80. The leading end of the strip 32 subsequently entersthe nip between the rolls 154 and 156; and at this time the machinecontrolling system is preferably effective to de-energize the magnet 164so that the roll 152 moves out of nipped relationship with the roll 150,leaving the strip 32 in a rather loose, slack condition between therolls 148 and 154 (for better printing action). The machine controllingsystem, incidentally, is again effective to energize the magnet 164 soas to cause the roll 152 to move into nipped relationship with the roll150 when the trailing end of a strip 32 reaches the vicinity of the roll150.

The leading end of the strip 32 passes through the sensor 166 (which,like the sensor 144, is aligned with the stripe 44) just prior toreaching the rolls 154 and 156. The machine controlling systempreferably utilizes the signal from the sensor 166 raised when theleading end of the strip 32 passes through the sensor 166 to measure thetime required for the leading end of the strip 32 to pass from thesensor 144 to the sensor 166. It this time is unduly great, a jam of thestrip 32 has probably occurred in the path 80. The signal from thesensor 166 is also effective to control the printing by the printer sothat this printing begins at the proper locations of the ticket 30. Theemitter 216 cooperates in this case also so as to assure that printingbegins a certain number of counts after the leading end of a ticket 30has passed through the sensor 166. The machine controlling system iseffective to print the charac ters desired on each ticket as it passesbeneath the printer 70, and some of these printed characters arepreferably some of those which have been magnetically encoded on thestripe 44 of the particular ticket 30 being printed. The print wires 333are actuated by the print units 70a and 70b to print on the print lines46 and 48 in accordance with the usual operation of a conventional wireprinter.

The magnet 164 is preferably de-energized to supply slack in the strip32 between the rolls 148 and 158 while simultaneous verification andprinting of the tickets 30 on the strip occurs, so that any agitationapplied by the wires 333 of the printer 70 to the strip 32 is nottransmitted back by the strip 32 to the head 68, possibly upsetting theverifying action. The rolls 152 and when in nipped relationship assurethat short lengths of strips 32 continue to travel in the path 80 fromthe roll 148 to the roll 154 as well as assuring the proper travel ofthe leading and trailing ends of strips 32 of all lengths.

Whenever the strip 32 from the supply reel 58 is used by the machine,the machine controlling system is effective to maintain theelectromagnet 192 energized. The deflector 104 is thus swung into aposition so that the ticket strip 32 travels in thepath 98. If themachine controlling system calls for a length of unrolled strip 32 asoutput (under the direction of the machine operator), the machinecontrolling system causes the electromagnet 194 to be energized, and thedeflector 108 is swung upwardly. The strip 32 then travels in the path102 and appears at the left end of the machine at which it can begrasped by the machine operator. The rolls 186, 184, 188 and 190 propelthe strip 32 through the paths 98 and 102, as is apparent.

In the event that the machine operator wishes the strip 32 afterencoding and printing to be wrapped into roll form, the machinecontrolling system (as directed by the machine operator) causes theelectromagnet 194 to be in de-energized condition. The deflector 108 isthen swung downwardlly so that the strip 32, instead of entering thepath 102, instead enters the path 100. The strip is propelled in thiscase by the rolls 184 and 186, and the strip passes through the webguide 198 to the takeup reel 62. The takeup reel 62 automaticallyengages the leading end of the strip 32 and winds the strip 32 into theform of a roll. The takeup reel 62 may be of any suitable self-threadingtype and may be, for example, of the type disclosed in the co-pendingapplication of Richard Lagergren, Ser. No. 357,428, filed May 4, 1973Self-Threading Take-Up Spool Device. The strip 32 as it rolls up on thereel 62 makes contact with the guide 198 and swings the guide 198 aboutits pivot. After a predetermined diameter of rolled up strip 32 is onthe takeup reel 62, the guide 198 is swung through such an angle that itactuates the switch 200, and the switch 200 may be used for stopping themachine at this time.

The burster 72 is effective for strip output (the out put of a batch ofencoded and printed tickets through the path 102) for determining theend of the strip that passes out of the machine through the path 102.The machine controlling system (under the direction of the machineoperator) determines the particular number of tickets to be encoded andprinted prior to the line along the strip 32 at which the burster 72 iseffective. When the desired number of tickets have been encoded andprinted, the machine controlling system stops the motor 224 with thetrailing edge of the desired batch of tickets 30 opposite the burstblade 322, and the ticket strip 32 is thus stationary and is locatedwith the perforation line 34 at the trailing end of the desired batch oftickets directly above the burst blade 322. In this connection, theoutput of the sensor 144 is utilized by the machine controlling systemfor counting the number of tickets that are in the batch, prior tostoppage of the motor 224.

After the trailing end of the desired batch of tickets 30 is stopped inalignment with the burster blade 32, the machine controlling system iseffective to energize the electromagnet 314. The lever 316 is thus swungin the counterclockwise direction as seen in FIG. 13 and moves theabutment arm 318 out of engagement with the tooth 308a formed on thedisk 308. The sprig 330 is effective through the lever 326 on the blade322, and the blade 322 thus applies a rotative force on the disk 308 androll 306 through the block 320, tending to rotate the disk 308 and roll306 in the counterclockwise direction as seen in FIG. 13. The flat 306ais thus moved out of registry with the periphery of the roll 304, andthe knurled periphery of the roll 306 is moved into engagement with thetire 304a on the roll 304. The roll 304 is continuously driven from themotor 244 via belt 248, pulley 250 and shaft 253, and the roll 306 anddisk 308 are thereby driven in the counterclockwise direction as seen inFIG. 13. The blade 322 is thereby moved upwardly, along with the block320 on pin 310, and the lever 326 swings outwardly with the blade 322.The lever 326 clamps the strip 32 between it and the anvil plate 328 andthus fixed the strip 32 at its upstream side with respect to the blade322. The blade 322 continues its outward movement and breaks the strip32 at the perforation 34 in alignment with the blade 322. The strip 32is held on its downstream side at this time, so that the blade 322 canbe thus effective, by means of the rolls 146, 148, etc., driven from themotor 224 which at this time is inoperative. The roll 184 continues tobe driven from the motor 244; however, since this roll has a smoothperiphery, it has no adverse effect on the strip 32 for the brief timethat the burster 72 is effective.

After the bursting has thus been effective to sever the desired batch oftickets from the roll of tickets on the supply reel 58, the machinecontrol system may be then effective to start the motor 224 to move thedesired batch of tickets in strip form out of the machine through thepaths 80, 98 and 102.

In the event that the ticket strip 32 is being rolled up on the reel 62in lieu of traveling through the path 102, the machine control systemmay be likewise effective for severing the strip 32 at the trailing endof the tickets to be wound on to the reel 62. The switch 122 may be usedfor detecting the end of the strip 32 as it comes off of the supply reel58.

The machine controlling system preferably is such that it renders theprinter effective for every ticket that is properly verified using theread head 68. If there is a lack of verification using the head 68, inthis case the machine controlling system does not print on thatparticular ticket; and the ticket is subsequently not used. In the eventthat there is no verification of two or more consecutive tickets 30, themachine controlling system preferably shuts down the machine.

The ticket strip 51, which does not include the slots 38 through whichthe sensors 144 and 166 can operate, functions in substantially the samemanner as the strip 32; since the strip 51 is translucent to such anextent that sufficient light passes between the parts of the sensors todetect the spaces between adjacent tickets 50. The machine controllingsystem is properly adjusted so that, for any differences in length ofthe tickets 50, the machine controlling system operates as has justabove been described.

The machine is also useful with individual tickets. The individualtickets are the tickets 30 which have been previously disassociated fromeach other by splitting them apart on the perforation lines 34. Tickets30 of a 2 inch length in particular are contemplated for this usage. Theindividual tickets are first loaded into a cartridge 346 (see FIGS. 25and 26), and the tickets may be so loaded (with stripes 44 down) bymoving the tickets individually, with longitudinal bending thereof,between the side flanges 368 and 370. As the tickets move into thecartridge, they move against the block 378 and against the action of thespring 380, the coil of which rotates within the slot 382. Eventually astack of the tickets 30 is thus collected in the cartridge 346, with thespring 380 holding the block 378 against the stack and with the lowerend of the stack being held in the cartridge 346 by the flanges 368 and370. Alternately, the tickets 30 may be loaded as a stack into thecartridge 346 by removing the cover 346b, elevating the block 378against the action of the spring 380 and then moving the stack oftickets into the cartridge. The loaded cartridge is placed upon thetable portion 348 and beneath the spring 352 which functions to retainthe cartridge 346 in place so as to form the hopper 74.

An empty cartridge 346 may be moved into place on to the table portion354 and beneath the retainer spring 358 so as to form the stacker 76.The cartridge 346 when thus being moved into position contacts and movesthe lever 364 so as to actuate the switch 360, which thus may be used inconnection with the machine controlling system to indicate that thestacker 76 is in ready condition for machine operation. The lever 364and switch parts have thus moved from their FIG. 23 positions to theirFIG. 22 positions. When the cartridge 346 is in place on the tableportion 354, the actuator arm 362 extends through a correspondingopening in the rear of the cartridge 346 as shown in FIG. 22. When thetickets recieved by the stacker 76 eventually stack to a level at whichthe block 378 contacts and moves the actuator arm 362, the switch 360 isagain thereby changed back to its original condition so as to stop themachine through the intermediary of the machine controlling system. Thestack of tickets that are thus loaded into a cartridge 346 acting as thestacker 76 may also be used for subsequent processing by the machine,with the cartridge 346' containing these tickets being moved from thestacker position to the hopper position whereby this loaded cartridge346 then constitutes the hopper 74.

The machine may be operated for simply reading tickets 30 that have beendetached from merchandise,

and in this case the tickets are normally manually loaded individuallyinto a cartridge 346 from the bottom. In this case, the machinecontrolling system preferably directs to the stacker 76 only those ofthe tickets which do not verify according-to the machine controllingsystem. These tickets then are re-read, either visually or by themachine. Those of the tickets that are being read and that verifyproperly are directed to the discard chute 78 and have no further use.In the event that a stack of the tickets 30 are to be encoded andprinted; in this case, a stack of the tickets is loaded into thecartridge after removing the cover 346a. These individual tickets 30after being magnetically encoded, verified and printed by the machineare collected in the hopper 76 for subsequent usage on pieces ofmerchandise. In the event that there is a lack of verification of aticket that is being encoded, this particular ticket goes into thediscard chute 78.

It will now be assumed that the hopper 74 has blank tickets '30 in itwhich are to be magnetically encoded and printed by the machine. Thelowermost ticket 30 of the-stack of tickets in the hopper 74 is fed fromthe hopper due to the energization of the magnet 140 by the action ofthe machine controlling system. The roll 136 is thus raised to havecontact with the lowermost ticket 30, and this ticket is thus moved outof the hop per 74, through the slot 374 and between the knife 298 androll 300. The knife 298 fits in the half of the slot 36 at the leadingedge of the ticket 30 being fed from the hopper and cooperates with theroll 300 so as to assure that only one ticket 30 at a time is thus fedfrom the hopper 74. The ticket enters the nip between the rolls 124 and126 and is thus propelled forwardly in the path 88. When the ticket 30coming out of the hopper 74 is detected by the switch 142, the machinecontrolling system then is effective to de-energize the magnet 146,lowering the roll 136. The machine controlling system also preferably isarranged so that the roll 136 will be dropped in the same manner, ifafter a predetermined time subsequent to raising of the roll 136, aticket does not actuate the switch 142. The machine controlling systemalso preferably is arranged so that in the latter case, the roll 136will be raised a second time to re-attempt to feed a ticket 30 from thebottom of the hopper 74.

When a ticket has successfully been fed from the hopper 74 to actuatethe switch 142, the switch 142 is effective by means of the machinecontrolling system to energize the magnet 134. The roll 130 is thenmoved to have a nip with the roll 128, and the ticket 30 is propelleddown the path 88 by means of the rolls 128 and 130. Both of the rolls126 and 128 are driven from the motor 244 as previously described. Themagnet 134 is de-energized by the machine controlling system apredetermined time after the trailing edge of the ticket 30 in the path88 de-actuates the switch 142. The roll is thus at this time moves outof nipped relationship with respect to the roll 128. The ticket thus isstopped just after leaving the switch 142, and side spring 143 moves theticket against the face of backbone 84 to properly align the ticket inthe machine, with the rolls 130 and 128 being out of drivingrelationship with respect to the ticket.

At this time, the machine controlling system again energizes the magnetI34, moving the roll 130 back into nipped relationship with respect tothe roll 128; and the ticket 30 is then driven by the rolls 128 and 130toward the sensor 144. The leading edge of the ticket 30 acting on thesensor 144 causes reading and verifying actions to take place similarlyas with a ticket 30 on a strip 32; and rhe sensor 144, in the case ofthe individual ticket and by means of the machine controlling system,again tie-energizes the magnet 134 to raise the roll 130 from the roll128 a predetermined time after the leading edge of the ticket isdetected by the sensor 144. The rolls 146 and 148 are then effective todrive the ticket, after the ticket has left the control of the rolls 128and 130.

After an individual ticket has been magnetically encoded and has beenverified by the heads 66 and 68, being driven by the rolls 146 and 148,the ticket enters the nip between the rolls 150 and 152. Whileindividual tickets are being processed, the magnet 164 is keptenergized, so that the rolls 152 and 150 remain in nipped relationshipto propel the individual tickets 30 through the path 80. The latterrolls propel a ticket 30 forwardly until the ticket reaches the rolls154 and 156, passing through the detector 166. Printing is accomplishedby the printer 70 on the individual ticket in the same manner as aticket has previously been printed while on a strip 32. The detector 166also has a timing action with respect to the detector 144, using themachine controlling system, to determine that there is no jamming ofindividual tickets in the path 80.

While a first individual ticket 30 is being magnetically encoded andverified by the heads 66 and 68 as just described, a second individualticket 30 is picked from the hopper 74 and moves into the path 88 in thesame manner as the first ticket 30. The second tickeet 30 ismagnetically encoded, verified and printed in the same manner as thefirst ticket. Normally there is a spacing between successive individualtickets in the paths 88 and 80 of about 1 /2 inches.

The magnet 192 is maintained in de-energized condition when individualtickets 30 are being used, and the rolls 158 and 160 propel theindividual tickets into the path 92. If a particular individual tickethas been magnetically encoded and has had the coding verified, themagnet 194 is de-energized; and the deflector 106 is in a position so asto cause the individual ticket 30 to move from the path 92 to the path94. The rolls and 168 in this case propel the ticket into the path 94.The leading edge of the ticket 30 makes the switch 182, and a check isthus made to determine the presence of a ticket at this point. Themagnet is energized by means of the machine controlling system, so as toraise the roll 176, a predetermined time after the individual

1. In a machine for processing merchandise tickets in both connected orroll form and separate or individual ticket form, means defining a mainticket path, an encoding head in said path for encoding information on aticket moving in said path, a read head in said path located downstreamin the direction of ticket movement in said path with respect to saidwrite head for reading encoded information on a ticket in said path, ahopper for individual tickes, a supply reel for a roll of tickets, meansdefining a first supply path connecting said reel with said main pathfor supplying connected tickets to said main path, means defining asecond supply path connecting said hopper with said main path forsupplying individual tickets to said main path, a stacker for individualtickets, a take-up reel for tickets in connected form, means defining aconnected ticket delivery path connecting said main path with saidtake-up reel for delivering tickets in connected form from said mainpath to said reel, means defining an individual ticket delivery pathconnecting said main path with said stacker for delivering individualtickets from said main path to said stacker, means defining an auxiliaryindividual ticket delivery path connected with said first namedindividual ticket delivery path for delivering individual tickets to adiscard chute, means defining an auxiliary connected ticket deliverypath connected with said first named connected ticket delivery path fordelivering connected tickets exclusive of said take-up reel, aselectively operable ticket deflector for routing tickets from said mainpath to either said first named individual ticket delivery path or tosaid first named connected ticket delivery path, a selectively operableticket deflector for routing individual tickets from said first namedindividual ticket delivery path to said auxiliary individual ticketdelivery path, and a selectively operable ticket deflector for routingconnected tickets from said first named connected ticket delivery pathto said auxiliary connected ticket delivery path.
 2. A machine forprocessing merchandise tickets comprising means defining a ticket path;means for moving a ticket along said path; an encoding head in said pathfor encoding a ticket moving in said path; a read head in said pathlocated downstream, in the direction of ticket movement, with respect tosaid encoding head for reading encoded information on a ticket moving insaid path; a ticket hopper including a ticket cartridge; means formoving tickets one at a time out of the bottom of said cartridge intosaid path; a ticket stacker and comprising a ticket cartridge; means formoving tickets from the discharge end of said path into the bottom ofsaid stacker cartridge; and support means for said hopper cartridge andsaid stacker cartridge, said cartridges being identical whereby saidstacker cartridge may be moved onto the support means for said hoppercartridge after removal of the hopper cartridge from its support meanswhereby the stacker cartridge now becomes the hopper cartridge.
 3. Amachine for processing merchandise tickets as set forth in claim 2 andincluding means defining an auxiliary ticket discharge path to receivetickets from said first named path and to discharge them into a discardchute, and a selectively operable ticket deflector for routing ticketsto said auxiliary ticket discharge path instead of said stackercartridge.
 4. A machine for processiNg merchandise tickets includingmeans defining a ticket path, an encoding head in said path for encodingtickets moving in said path, another head in said path locateddownstream of said first named head with respect to ticket movement foracting on the tickets as they move along said path, the machineincluding an upper frame part and a lower frame part and said headsbeing carried by said lower frame part, means for moving said ticketsalong said path and including a plurality of drive rolls rotatablymounted on said upper frame part, and a motor mounted on said upperframe part and drivingly connected with said drive rolls, said upperframe part being swingably mounted on said lower frame part so that theupper frame part and the rolls carried thereby may be moved away fromsaid lower frame part and from said heads whereby tickets may be removedfrom said path at will.
 5. A machine for processing merchandise ticketswhich are in connected form having perforate lines dividing the ticketsfrom each other, said machine including means defining a ticket path, anencoding head in said path for encoding the tickets as they move in saidpath, another head in said path located downstream with respect toticket movement and said first named head for acting on the tickets asthey move along said path, means for moving the connected tickets alongsaid path and including a plurality of nipped rolls between which theconnected tickets move and means for driving some of said rolls, and aburster in said path located upstream with respect to said first namedhead and including a radially moveable burster blade adapted to engagethe perforate line between a pair of consecutive tickets travelling insaid path in order to burst the tickets apart on said perforate line. 6.A machine as set forth in claim 5, said burster including an anvil partwhich is swingably mounted and is moved by the action of the bursterblade moving toward the perforate line between a pair of consecutivetickets in said path for fixing these tickets as the burster blade movesto burst the tickets apart on their said perforate line.